


All That Was Real

by Huge_actman



Category: The Greatest Showman (2017)
Genre: F/M, I really need to stop killing PT, Implied/Referenced Character Death, how do u tag, stroke
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-23
Updated: 2018-12-23
Packaged: 2019-09-25 12:42:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,027
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17121575
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Huge_actman/pseuds/Huge_actman
Summary: because he gave me the idea for it :)(I promise I'll write something other than death at some point!)





	All That Was Real

**Author's Note:**

  * For [gay_jeans](https://archiveofourown.org/users/gay_jeans/gifts).



> because he gave me the idea for it :)  
> (I promise I'll write something other than death at some point!)

The lights of the circus are bright in Phineas’ eyes and seem to multiply involuntarily when he blinks. They are almost to the point of being too bright: had they always been like that? Phin readjusts the collar of his flashy red coat before his entrance, which in moments will cue Anne to fly from the rafters in a flutter of iridescent silk. 

He peeks out from behind the curtains to wave at his teen girls, smiling broadly. Charity grins at him, but it morphs into an expression of concern and she frowns and taps the right corner of her lip lightly. Phin fumbles to bring his hand to his face, assuming he has a fleck of food on it. It is hard to raise his arm, and his fingers are numb, despite the warmth trapped inside of the tent. He gives up and uses the left hand, but there is nothing to wipe away. 

Phin glances inquisitively at Charity, but she has stood and is making her way through the packed bleachers, and her eyes are focused on finding clear footing. Phin ducks back behind the curtain and plops his hat into his head, ignoring the tiny headache that is starting behind his eyes. Sensory overload, most likely, he reasons. This had been happening more often in the past few months. 

His cue, “Colossal we come these renegades in the ring,” is sung, and Phineas explodes through the curtain, a brilliant red streak at the center of the light and color. 

He sings as loud as he can, his deep voice overtaking those of the Oddities, 

“Where the lost get found in the crown of the circus king!” 

This is his favorite part of every show. Of course, they do other numbers as well, rotating and shuffling them to mix things up, but this song is always the grand finale. Despite performing it in every show for years, Phineas does not tire of it, and neither does the crowd.  
When he bursts through the curtain the crowd inevitably goes wild, every time. The intoxicating passion of the moment catches, spreading from Phineas to the Oddities, and to the audience. The air glows with magic and colored lights (perhaps the same thing, in the end), and Phineas is certain that the circus is immortal. 

“Watching it come true, it's taking over you”

Phineas tosses his hat into the air, and like in so many other shows, the others catch it and pass it around, eventually throwing it back to Phineas. Phillip flips the top hat, the Barnum trademark, in Phin’s direction, but when Phin raises his right hand to reclaim it he misses and the hat drops into the dust. 

“This is where you wanna be,”

He snatches it up smoothly, but when he stands Phineas is hit by the full force of a brutal, mind-numbing headache, and he freezes and gasps, trying to suck in enough air to appease this awful headache and trailing off in his song.

“Its everything you’ll ever-”

The hat slides out of his hand, which has gone completely numb. The lights around him bend and lurch and fade together, swirling like the tiny pinpoints of light cast by the wishing machine he made so long ago for Caroline and Helen. 

The muscles on Phin’s right side seize and buckle, forcing him to the ground. Lettie gives him a look and he tries to shrug in response but his right shoulder, now covered in a quickly spreading pins and needles feeling, refuses to move, and when he attempts a reassuring smile, Phineas finds that the right side of his mouth sags. 

Phillip runs to him and playfully plops the hat back on Phin’s head, but he whispers, “Everything okay?” Phineas nods and Phillip dances off to where he’s supposed to be to catch Anne when she flies from the trapeze. 

He just needs air is all, Phineas decides. If he can just get out of the ring he will be fine. Nausea rises up in his stomach and he fights the urge to wretch. Suddenly the lights and color serve only to overwhelm and sicken him, and all the magic fades away, to be replaced by painful reality and fear of mortality. 

Charity appears by his side like the angel she always has been and hoists him up. His entire right side is basically useless, and realizing this, Charity screams for help. Her voice is lost in the noise and she begins to drag Phin to the curtain the separates the the ring from backstage. 

Phineas grabs onto Charity’s sleeve with a clawlike grip and tries to tell her to set him down before he vomits, but all that comes out is a slurred whimper. His body convulses and he wretches onto himself, his wife, and the ground. Humiliation burns Phineas’ cheeks as uncomfortably as the bile burns his throat and nose.  
Phillip appears at Phin’s other side and helps Charity haul him from the ring. Phineas mumbles, “Sorry sorry sorry Cherry,” but all she hears is a whimper. 

They lay him down backstage, and Charity removes his coat, all the while whispering calming things in his ear. The noise from the ring filters in and tinges Phineas’ mind with red and gold fever dreams as he fades in and out of consciousness. 

“'Cause everything you want is right in front of you  
And you see the impossible is coming true  
And the walls can't stop us now,”

Charity is telling him something, patting his cheeks, unbuttoning his collar. He’s so tired… “Phineas! Stay awake, darling. Stay with me.” Phin wants to obey her, he really does, but his head hurts so badly, and the numbness creeping up his arm and neck makes him feel like he’s already nearly out. 

He pats her cheek with his left hand. She’s crying. He tries to tell her he’s okay, but she just takes his hand and cries harder. 

“This is the greatest show!”

The last line of the song, his song, claims his attention and rises to a wonderful crescendo, and then ends, holding the silence for seconds before the crowd explodes with applause.


End file.
